Generally, electrostatic chucks may be used during the processing of semiconductor wafers in order to hold and transport semiconductor wafers and their carriers. Electrostatic chucks, as opposed to mechanical chucks that hold wafers by simply acting as a physical clamp, hold a wafer and carrier by supplying a charge to a plate and generating an electrostatic force to hold the semiconductor wafer. Such an arrangement allows the electrostatic chuck to avoid contact with the side of the wafer to be processed (a contact which is unavoidable with typical clamping mechanical chucks), thereby preventing damage from occurring on that side of the wafer.
However, the uniformity of temperature distribution at the wafer retained by the electrostatic chucks is required in an advanced semiconductor manufacturing process, such as a 28 nm technique or narrower. Although existing devices and methods to deliver wafers have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in all respects. Consequently, it would be desirable to provide a solution for improving electrostatic chucks.